Bought the Independent on the way out from London. Purely based on the lead article. Dozens of new species discovered in the Foja Mountains in the Indonesian side of the New Guinea island. As a change from the ubiquitous footballers and B-list celebrities this was a lighthouse-sized flash of inspiration at the shop counter.

And the article did not disappoint, as the discoveries are numerous. Reaching from plants and insects all the way to mammals via amphibians. And with a note that even the most advanced life forms have no aversion to humans, meaning that the valley where the critters were located had been remote indeed. As noted by the ever-reliable kasa, the best images seem to be available through abc.

The previous big batch of new animals that crossed over the news-threshold was discovered in caves below the Sierra Nevada in California. No funky-looking birds, no fluffy kangaroos that time around.